The cast of Buckwild looking surprisingly Buck-reserved.

With the return of fan favourite shows after the mid-season hiatus, season premieres and any number of new series vying for time in the TV schedule, the spring looks to be hectic for TV watchers.

Here are the top TV shows that you should check out in 2013.

Series premiere: Jan. 3, 2013

Channel: MTV

If you like watching young beautiful people with lives full of drinking, partying and dramatic exchanges, then you’re going to love Buckwild. Now that Jersey Shore is over, MTV needs a replacement reality television series to fill the time slot. Redneck culture is blowing up right now and MTV has jumped on the bandwagon. If you liked Jersey Shore you should tune in for what is essentially the country version of it.

Season 3 premiere: Jan. 13, 2013 

Channel: Showtime

Shameless is a dramatic comedy that tells the story of the dysfunctional Gallagher family.

Frank Gallagher, played by William H. Macy, is the type of dad that no one wants: an alcoholic womanizer whose sole focus is himself. The series chronicles his family’s misadventures as they make the best of the economic hardship they face in their day-to-day lives.

Season 6 premiere: Jan. 13, 2013 

Channel: Showtime

The Golden Globe and Emmy award-winning Californication is back and better than ever. Starring David Duchovny as Hank Moody, a troubled novelist living in California, the series follows his self-destructive behavior and how it affects his friends and family. The sixth season will revolve around Hank writing a musical and promises more laughs — and of course more family drama — for the always-entertaining protagonist.

Series premiere: Jan. 30, 2013

Channel: FX

Set in the 1980s, this new Cold War drama focuses on the complex lives of two Soviet KGB sleeper agents. The agents impersonate American citizens so that they can blend in to the general population in order to complete mission objectives. Starring Keri Russell (Felicity) and Matthew Rhys (Brothers & Sisters), The Americans will bring a whole new level of intrigue to the genre of spy vs. spy TV shows.

Season 4 premiere: Feb. 7, 2013

Channel: NBC

Delayed from its original air date of Oct. 19, 2012, what may be TV’s best comedy returns Feb. 7 for its fourth — and possibly final — season. New episodes of Community will air Thursday nights on NBC and hopefully the quality of the show will be unaffected by the absence of Chevy Chase in a few episodes. Chase left the cast before filming of the fourth season finished. Tune in to see Greendale Community College’s study group back to its regular hilarity laden with satire and pop culture references.

Mid-season return: Feb. 10, 2013

Channel: AMC

After breaking for the holidays, AMC’s The Walking Dead is back. This season’s remaining episodes promise to once again focus on a small group of survivors in a world that is almost entirely inhabited by the dead. In the second half of the season, the group will have to deal with the threat of another community of survivors. Full of tense dramatic moments and horror movie suspense, The Walking Dead will keep you guessing who will be killed off next.

Season 3 premiere: Mar. 31, 2013

Channel: HBO

The hour-long epic fantasy series Game of Thrones returns for its most expansive season yet. Based off of the first half of A Storm of Swords, the third book in George R.R Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire novels, season three will pick up where the last season ended. With various wars brewing throughout the land of Westeros, each episode promises to be packed with violence, sex and, as always, lots and lots of intrigue.

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Photos: Supplied